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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Thursday issued what he termed a "wake-up call" to the growing problems of pedophiles prowling the Internet and online images of sexual abuse of children.

Gonzales described the depravity and horror of criminal acts against children in unusually graphic detail.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that we are in the midst of an epidemic in the production and trafficking of movies and images depicting the sexual abuse of children," Gonzales said.

"The threat is frighteningly real, it is growing rapidly, and it must be stopped," he said.

To highlight the Justice Department's growing concern, he traveled to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia, to deliver his speech.

Gonzales praised the center for its help, but said the public "does not yet appreciate the scope, the nature and the import of this criminal activity and the threat it poses to our kids."

The attorney general said one of every five children online is now solicited. He cited a recent estimate that 50,000 predators are online at any given time prowling for children.

"It is graphic, but if we do not talk candidly then it is easy for people to turn away," he said.

"I have seen pictures of older men forcing naked young girls to have anal sex," Gonzales said. "There are videos on the Internet of very young daughters forced to have intercourse and oral sex with their fathers.

"Viewing this was shocking and it makes my stomach turn, but while these descriptions may make some uncomfortable, we will not defeat this threat unless we all really understand the nature of the child pornography now prevalent on the Internet," he said.

Gonzales said the public must not consider child porn a victimless crime.

"There are images of graphic sexual and physical abuse of innocent children, even babies," he said. "It is brutal; it is heinous, and it is criminal."

He said he is sending to Congress a legislative package that includes greater penalties and improved cooperation from Internet service providers.

"This legislation will help ensure that Internet service providers report the presence of child pornography on their systems by strengthening criminal penalties for failing to report it," the attorney general said.